Kearney confirms Issac Luke's time is up at Warriors

Warriors coach Stephen Kearney has confirmed that veteran hooker Issac Luke isn't in his plans for 2020 and will need to find another club if he hopes to continue his 270-game career.

After 82 appearances for the Warriors across four seasons, the veteran hooker played his last game on home soil in Friday's 31-10 loss to the Rabbitohs.

The 32-year-old was rated among the game's best hookers in his prime but he has struggled in 2019 and was dropped from the NRL side at one stage.

With young hookers Nathaniel Roache and Karl Lawton on the books for next year, and the club still pursuing other players in that position, Kearney said at this stage Luke won't be offered a new deal.

Luke also tweeted post-match to deny rumours he was retiring from the game, but did confirm he's on the lookout for a new club.

"At this stage yeah [it was his last home game]," Kearney said.  

"He's been a wonderful servant for the footy club and a wonderful servant for rugby league to be honest."

The Wests Tigers are one NRL club believed to be considering Luke as an option for next year, and Kearney said the 13-year veteran still has something to offer at NRL level if he can rediscover top form.  

"At his best, most definitely he can still play NRL," Kearney said.

"But he has to be at his best. He's quality when he's playing well. When he's playing his best footy I think he's an asset to any footy team."

For the third week in a row the Warriors defence leaked more than 30 points but Kearney said it was a vast improvement on the losses to the Roosters (42-6) and Sharks (42-16).

"We spoke all week about effort and I couldn't really fault that tonight. They worked really hard for each other," Kearney said.

"Probably a bit of class difference tonight, and that gets accentuated when we probably aren’t at our best in terms of confidence.  

"I thought our group tried really hard.

"They got to 14-0 up and the last couple of weeks we haven't dug our heels in and fought our way back, and I thought the group really did that."

Meanwhile, Chanel Harris-Tavita's outstanding rookie season appears to be over after he suffered a suspected broken arm or wrist minutes into the second half against the Rabbitohs.

It could also rule the playmaker, who is eligible for both Toa Samoa and the Kiwis, out of the end-of-season Oceania Cup matches.

Forward Lachlan Burr paid tribute to Harris-Tavita's bravery after he stayed on the field following the injury to make a series of important tackles.

"I think he broke his arm and then made four tackles after that, so it shows how much heart he has got," Burr told NRL.com.

"There's one game left in the season… he'll have a big 2020, you're going to see big things for him."

The Warriors had already lost centre Patrick Herbert to a quad injury in the warm-up, forcing rookie Adam Pompey to be rushed in as a replacement.